Autopsy Interviews and Features

The U.S. death metal monster Autopsy was slain back in '95, allowing a gore-soaked phoenix to rise from the infected ashes as Abscess took over, injecting a dirty punk vibe to the usual death metal mayhem.

2011 saw history repeat itself, but this time in the opposite order, as Abscess finally succumbed to internal rot and imploded. In a ritual involving headless zombies, brain-consuming metal fanatics, and self-mutilation, Chris Reifert managed to resurrect Autopsy from the pits of Hell, and since then the demonic musical manifestation has released a stunning three aural assaults on the mortal world.

With Autopsy recently being covered in our Sunday Old School column and new album "Tourniquets, Hacksaws and Graves" out now, I braved life and limb (mostly limb - I mean just look at that album cover!) to speak with the necromancer/musician Chris Reifert and discover what foul magic has been enacted on this latest go around. Read on - if you dare - to learn the final fate of Abscess, the blasphemous imagery soon to hit the digital world from Autopsy's comic release, and how Reifert is getting out his punk urges with a new project. More...

Anthropologist Sam Dunn and Banger Films have documented the history and evolution of rock’s ugly cousin, heavy metal. “Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey” (2005) broke down metal’s various styles in a heavy metal family tree, and explained through exhaustive research and interviews, the construction and progression of each style. Although the film played on network television outlets such as VH1 Classic, an hour-and-a-half film is a mere scratch on the shield of heavy metal history.

After releasing a stint of award-winning films such as “Iron Maiden: Flight 666,” and “Rush: Behind the Stage,” Banger Films returned to metal lineage, this time securing a contract with VH1 Classic to release a season of “Metal Evolution: The Series.” Each week Sam and his crew presented an hour-long segment focusing on a single sub-genre. Dunn documented everything from the prototype bands that influenced metal’s loud and raucous nature to Black Sabbath’s rise, eventually landing on newer styles such as Nu Metal and Power Metal (‘80s German to modern Finnish symphonic).

Even though Banger Films released eleven episodes, there were still major holes in the series. Viewers reached out to the film company and asked why the network didn’t release episodes on extreme metal branches such as black metal, death metal and grindcore. The simple answer is none of the networks felt those topics were suitable for television.

Now Dunn and Banger Films have set out to create “The Lost Episode,” a segment devoted to extreme metal. Metal Underground.com called Sam Dunn to discuss how he and his crew plans to write, film, finance and release “Metal Evolution Episode 12: The Lost Episode, Extreme Metal.” More...

Autopsy are death metal legends. No arguments there, but who knew they would come roaring back into prominence after being dormant for 15 years with last year’s “Macabre Eternal”? The band has a new lease on their career, warping the minds of a new generation, while crushing the necks of older fans. The band is getting ready to release a new compilation album, “All Tomorrow’s Funerals,” which will include all their EPs remastered, along with a couple of new tracks.

I had the chance to send drummer/vocalist Chris Reifert questions via e-mail, and he proceeded to take none of my questions seriously. Those looking for some insight into how “All Tomorrow’s Funerals” came together will be disappointed, but those that want a few good laughs at my expense will thoroughly enjoy reading this interview as much as I did. More...

Autopsy is a name synonymous with death metal. Along with names such as Carcass, Grave and Obituary, Autopsy bore a morbid moniker that obviously denoted a “death” metal band. Forming in 1987, Autopsy helped pioneer this morbid musical movement. During that same year, vocalist/drummer Chris Reifert helped launch Death—the group many attribute as the first modern death metal band—when he played drums on the band’s debut full-length “Scream Bloody Gore.”

Reifert left Death after “Scream Bloody Gore” and Autopsy released “Severed Survival,” their debut full-length recording, two years later. The debut and their early ‘90s follow ups such as “Mental Funeral” pushed the limits of brutal, putrefying imagery.

Bands have definitely taken a cue or eh…a rotten limb from Autopsy’s lyrical sheets. While bands such as Cannibal Corpse and Suffocation have made a larger impact on the death metal scene, Autopsy’s slow-to-mid-pace rhythms surely inspired early death metal groups, especially the doom-death variety. Autopsy may have been an even bigger influence if the group had not broken up in 1995.

Between the years of 1995 and 2009, Autopsy members stayed active in other bands such as The Ravenous and Abscess. Since reforming, the group released an EP “The Tomb Within” (2010) and most recently “Macabre Eternal.” Vocalist/drummer Chris Reifert spoke with Metal Underground about the band’s reformation, new album and upcoming moribund visions. More...

While news of the retirement of non-traditional metal act Abscess was a blow to the scene, it also came on the heels of another announcement that got the death metal legions riled up and ready for destruction - the resurrection of Autopsy. Abscess came to its end just after the release of the "Dawn of Inhumanity", the band's sixth full-length album. Since then, Autopsy has already begun working on a new EP and full-length. Chris Reifert of Abscess and Autopsy took some time to explain the reasons behind the breakup and subsequent reactivation, and discussed the future of Autopsy. More...